-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Unauthorized immigrant women do the jobs that put food on the plates of Americans , but face harassment and other challenges daily in the workplace , a study by the Southern Poverty Law Center found .

The report , titled `` Injustice On Our Plates , '' is based on interviews with 150 immigrant women from Mexico , Guatemala and other Latin American countries .

`` Despite their contributions to our economy , these immigrants live at the margins of U.S. society -- subsisting on poverty wages , enduring humiliation and exploitation in the workplace , and living in constant fear that their families will be shattered if they are detected , '' according to the report .

The anecdotes collected by the organization provide a glimpse of the hardships faced by agricultural workers who are in the United States illegally .

The women interviewed mostly said they came to the United States to seek a better life for their families , the report said . Critics of illegal immigration say those who want to work in the United States should get in line with others seeking a legal path in . Many of the women interviewed said they did n't meet any of the established criteria for obtaining a green card and so decided to cross illegally .

The subjects that the report focused on worked in places such as Florida , New York , North Carolina and California . They worked picking tomatoes , lettuce , green beans , apples and other produce .

`` Regardless of what sector of the food industry these women worked in , they all reported feeling like they were seen by their employers as disposable workers with no lasting value , to be squeezed of every last drop of sweat and labor before being cast aside , '' the report said .

The challenges include low pay -- one woman reported that she earned $ 5.75 an hour , or sometimes 45 cents for each 32-pound bucket filled with tomatoes .

`` You have to run to do 150 -LSB- buckets -RSB- to make your money for the day , '' the woman , identified only as Maria , told interviewers .

Sometimes , after two weeks of work , they would not get paid , she said . One boss would n't let the workers go to the bathroom , she said .

Farmworkers are also exposed to harmful pesticides that can cause birth defects , the report said .

According to the report , about six in 10 of America 's farmworkers are unauthorized immigrants . Of the total illegal immigrant population , women are estimated to make up 4 million .

Another woman interviewed for the study , Olivia , told how she was raped by one of her supervisors . Sexual violence and harassment is widely reported by unauthorized female immigrants , the report said .

`` Sexual predators view farmworker women and other undocumented women as ` perfect victims ' because they are isolated , thought to lack credibility , generally do not know their rights , and may be vulnerable because they lack legal status , '' the study said .

A majority of the women interviewed by the center reported facing sexual harassment at work .

The report 's recommendations included enacting comprehensive immigration reform that provide a path for legalization . Such efforts in Congress have been unsuccessful in the past . The center also recommends tightening labor laws for agricultural producers .

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The Southern Poverty Law Center finds that immigrant women face daily challenges

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They include wage abuse and sexual harassment

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Unauthorized immigrant women help put food on tables , but are neglected at work , study says